Not all who wander are lost

There was no post last week because we were in Illinois for Northwestern’s commencement. My husband completed his PhD in Astrophysics last August, which was too late for him to participate in graduation activities with the class of 2012. Hence, he did it this year, voluminous robes and silly hats and all. I’m incredibly proud of him. His journey has been long and arduous, and his tenacity and pure, bullheaded stubbornness is amazing and admirable.

My own academic journey has been somewhat different. Whereas Pete majored in astronomy as an undergrad and single-mindedly pushed toward a PhD in astronomy through rounds of rejection and years of toil, I majored in philosophy and pretty much knew that I wasn’t cut out to do much more with it. By graduation I had an interest in studying theology and possibly becoming an Episcopal priest like my grandmother. I was advised to get a taste of the real world first before pursuing seminary, so I got a job after undergrad. A couple years later, I was still interested in theology, so I did a two year Master of Theological Studies degree at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, MA (The school was absorbed by Boston College a couple years later). I wanted to do a PhD, but it didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. In retrospect, that’s a good thing. The academic market, particularly in the humanities, is brutal, and I would have spent a lot of money (actually, borrowed a lot of money) for a degree that probably wouldn’t have gotten me a job. Not to mention I had a young family, and if finding a job for one academic is difficult, finding jobs for two academics at the same institution…well, it happens, but that’s the exception.

So, I decided to cultivate my writing. I can write anywhere, which is extremely useful as we follow Pete to post-docs and, god willing, professorships. I have a great amount of flexibility, so Pete and I can work out childcare between the two of us. And writing is something I’ve always loved, something I did even when I was studying philosophy and theology. It makes me happy. Which is good, considering I make almost no money doing it.

My path is really atypical, though. There was a time when, if asked what I did, I would say I was an unemployed theologian. I have this degree, and I’m not doing anything with it, right?

Well, not really. One of the beauties about writing is that nothing in your past is useless. The phrase “grist for the mill” is hopelessly cliche, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. All of your experiences, your studies, your loves and your fascinations, all of it weaves into your stories. I’ve found that I bring a lot of theology and philosophy into my work. For instance, I have a science fiction piece I call “Incarnation” where I explore the mind-body problem. Another piece I’m working on now, more mainstream, concerns the capacity of people to be simultaneously admirable in some ways and worthy of condemnation in others, and whether those two sides can be separated, or if the admirable qualities are irrevocably tainted by the not so admirable ones.

I might not be writing articles or teaching classes on theology or philosophy. But I’m telling stories that raise the same questions, that will hopefully get people thinking about the same issues. That’s how I’m using my degree.

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Published by eileenmaksym

Eileen Maksym studied philosophy at Yale and theology at Boston College, and now uses both to write science fiction. Currently she is an academic nomad, following her astrophysicist husband around the world, two kids in tow. When not writing or kid wrangling, Eileen is a hopeless fangirl. She can be found on Twitter (@eileenmaksym) squeeing over her favorite shows, most of which involve famous detectives, dashing time travelers, and creatures that are never, ever referred to as zombies.
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